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Food

Part of a nation's history lies in what people eat. Artifacts at the Museum document the history of food in the United States from farm machinery to diet fads.

More than 1,300 pieces of stoneware and earthenware show how Americans have stored, prepared, and served food for centuries. Ovens, cookie cutters, kettles, aprons, and ice-cream-making machines are part of the collections, along with home canning jars and winemaking equipment. More than 1,000 objects recently came to the Museum when author and cooking show host Julia Child donated her entire kitchen, from appliances to cookbooks.

Advertising and business records of several food companies—such as Hills Brothers Coffee, Pepsi Cola, and Campbell's Soup—represent the commercial side of the subject

This poster depicts recommendations for a healthy diet based on traditional foods associated with certain Mediterranean cultures. The “Traditional Healthy Mediterranean Diet Pyramid” was published in 1994, in the midst of national debates about how much and which types of food might best improve overall health and nutrition in America. While the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had been offering dietary guidance since 1894, the actual graphic of a pyramid illustrating the recommended varieties of foods and their proportions in a healthy diet was not released until 1992. Coming just two years later and published by the World Health Organization in collaboration with the esteemed Center for Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid was seen as a viable alternative to the USDA’s guidelines.

The creators of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid based their recommendations on the food traditions of Crete, certain areas of Greece, and southern Italy in part because those regions had very low rates of chronic diseases and long life expectancy. They also correlated the food consumption patterns from those areas (using data available from 1960), with data on nutrition revealed by new research and clinical trials. The resulting pyramid shows a broad base of breads, pasta, rice, couscous, polenta, bulgur, and other grains; fruits, vegetables, beans, other legumes, and nuts, along with smaller amounts of olive oil, cheese, and yogurt for daily consumption; and fish, poultry, eggs, and sweets recommended only a few times per week. Red meat sits at the top of the pyramid with the note, “A few times per month (or somewhat more often in very small amounts.”

Unlike any other food pyramid, the Mediterranean Diet included wine as part of a healthy diet. The poster shows a glass of red wine with the note “Wine in Moderation,” which was defined as wine usually consumed with meals, “about one to two glasses per day for men and one glass per day for women.” The notes included the caveat “from a contemporary health perspective, wine should be considered optional and avoided when consumption would put the individual or others at risk. That this recommendation came from medical experts at the prestigious Harvard School of Public Health made it especially significant. While California’s Wine Institute had long advocated wine in moderation as part of a healthy diet, the publication of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid was a major boon for American wine producers. John A. De Luca, the President and CEO of the wine Institute from 1975 to 2003, and his wife Josephine, donated this poster to the museum.

Used April 27, 2010, on the Smithsonian Photographic Initiative web site, "click! photography changes everything" (http://click.si.edu) to accompany contributor Jeremy Wolfe's (a professor at Harvard School of Medicine who investigates visual attention) story, which reflects on how photography changes what and how much we remember

Cite as

Goya Foods, Inc., Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

This clam shell paper box was used to distribute one Holiday Custard Style Pie. It is decorated with Toy Story 2 advertising and McDonald’s® golden arches logo. Woody and Bullseye the Horse, both Toy Story 2 characters, appear on one side of the box, Jessie appears on the reverse side. In 1996, McDonald’s® and Disney signed a 10 year, exclusive partnership agreement where McDonald’s® was able to use Disney characters for Happy Meal® premiums and Disney would receive free promotion of upcoming movies through McDonald’s®. This partnership appeared like a natural fit for the two companies since they had an overlapping market base. From November 26, 1999 through December 23, 1999, McDonald’s® marketed the Toy Story 2 Happy Meal® premiums.

The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.

In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.

Page 8 from The Doughnut Magazine, containing reproductions of photographs and drawings depicting the production, sale, and consumption of doughnnuts in England, South Africa, the Arctic, Genoa, and China.

Cite as

Sally L. Steinberg Collection of Doughnut Ephemera, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Since the 1970s, special dinners and social events have become an increasingly important way for winemakers to introduce their products to consumers. While the setting and tone of some wine events is formal and “high brow,” the new generation of Zinfandel producers that emerged in California created a different approach. Targeting new wine drinkers seeking new experiences, they combined unique, festive wine events and an edgy sense of humor to take the “stuffiness” out of wine.

This poster advertises the “7th Annual Zinfandel Festival,” held in San Francisco, California, on January 22-24, 1998. Sponsored by the association known as ZAP, Zinfandel Advocates and Producers, the event promised a light-hearted time with “good eats and zinfandel pairings;” “a blue jeans and black tie auction;” and the “world’s largest zinfandel tasting.” The poster’s imagery by artist Peter Nevins—a farm truck full of oversized grapes—suggests the informal, fun-loving perspective of ZAP and its members. ZAP continues to sponsor annual zinfandel festivals and seminars, featuring hundreds of wines and attracting thousands of participants.

Blank certificate from "Dunkin' Donuts University" for successful completion of a course in shop management and donut production. A faint photographic image of a doughnut, coffee cup, and spoon is visible behind the text.

Cite as

Sally L. Steinberg Collection of Doughnut Ephemera, Archives Center, National Museum of American History